Legal Issues With Songwriter Collaborations

Co-writing songs with friends and fellow artists can be a fun and productive experience, but also brings with it a host of legal complications. Here we examine how both the revenue and copyright of a collaboratively written song can be fairly divided in such a way that your songwriting partner remains your friend.

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In an effort to make the world of copyright a little less confusing, Wallace Collins provided MusicThinkTank with a rundown on how to ensure that your songwriting collaborations leave all parties involved happy and content, once all is said and signed.

“Co-writers can divide copyright ownership in whatever proportion they determine, and that ownership concerns both rights (ownership and control) and revenues (income generated). In the absence of a written agreement, under current case law concerning both copyright and partnership law two or more collaborators are generally deemed to share equally on a pro rata basis.”